June 13, 2015

A Flying Creature Called "Ropen"

The ropen flies within the confinement of cryptozoology, at least theoretically. But for those eyewitnesses whose lives have been changed by encountering this flying creature, it is hardly confined to theory, for it is real.

What do we know about the ropen? It is not confined to Papua New Guinea, which makes sense when we consider that the largest ones have wingspans greater than twenty feet. Flying creatures similar to the ropen of the southwest Pacific have been reported in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. In fact, many of the sightings have been reported in the United States.

So what qualifies a flying creature to be labeled "ropen?" It is featherless, according to many eyewitnesses, and has a long tail that ends with a structure that has been called a "diamond" or a "spade" or a "triangle" (although other labels have been attached to the end of the tail). Some persons describe a pointed horn-like appendage at the back of the head. In other words, it appears to be an unusual kind of Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur.

A Bioluminescent Flying Creature

One thing sets the ropen apart from most other flying creatures is the glow. Sometimes, when it flies overhead at night, it glows with what some cryptozoologists call "intrinsic bioluminescence." That means it can control the glow that it produces, turning it on and off at will.

Could some sightings of large glowing flying creatures at night be birds rather than pterosaurs? Of course they could, in theory. But examinations of specific sightings reports—those have mostly suggested something other than any known bird, at least classified by Western science.

Some barn owls (Tyto alba) have been reported to glow with what an Australia researcher believes is intrinsic bioluminescence. Fred Silcock has studied reports of "Min min" lights for many years, and has documented instances in which an observer got close enough to see that the flying glowing object was indeed a large owl.

But some eyewitnesses in Papua New Guinea have gotten close looks at a large glowing object that flies around at night, and part of the description includes a long tail. That eliminates barn owls from those particular sightings.

Three children, including Devon Roberts and his brother Dallin, saw something huge flying overhead, at about 11 p.m., around the fall of 2001, something very unlike any bird. Devon estimated the flying creature had a wingspan of 15-20 feet.

. . . right in front of us about thirty feet away. All of us froze for about five seconds, then it leaned to its left and took off with a fwap fwap fwap sound . . . and flew to its left and disappeared behind trees and terrain.

Paul Nation, of Granbury, Texas, videotaped the lights one night, in November, 2006, in a remote mountainous area of the mainland of Papua New Guinea. Here, the natives call the creature "indava," but explorers call it by the name used on Umboi Island: "ropen."

The ropen sighting involved seven boys. They ran home in terror after this sighting. Wesley, the brother of Gideon, described the ropen to me and I was able to videotape his answers. Likewise, another of the witnesses, Mesa, told me that he saw the ropen at that time.